'Sad and disappointed': West End orchestra halved due to Covid-19

Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera had been known for employing the largest number of musicians of any show on the West End.

But now the orchestra's 27 players is being cut to 14, in a move which follows a year of unprecedented economic hardship faced by the musical theatre industry. Musicians who had played for the orchestra will have to re-audition for the reduced number of roles.